Question : BUDGET FOR DEFENCE



(a) whether the Government proposes to curtail its defence budget;

(b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor including its adverse impact on modernisation and requirements of the armed forces;

(c) the total expenditure on defence by the neighbouring countries including China and Pakistan during each of the last three years including the percentage of defence expenditure to the total expenditure;

(d) whether our defence expenditure has lagged behind other countries of South and East Asia in the recent years and if so, the reasons therefor; and

(e) the steps taken / being taken by the Government in the interest of security of the country?

Answer given by the minister



MINISTER OF DEFENCE (SHRI A.K. ANTONY)

(a) to (e): A statement is attached.

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1779 FOR ANSWER ON 16.12.2013
(a) to (e): The Ministry of Defence is not considering any proposal to curtail the defence budget. Defence expenditure by major neighbouring countries as published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) is as under:-

[In constant (2011) US $ Million]
Country	2010	2011	2012
China	136467	146154	157603
Pakistan	6251	6547	6630
(SIPRI estimates)
Defence expenditure as a percentage of GDP in respect of these countries for the last three year is as under:-

Country 2010 2011 2012 China 2.1 2.0 2.0 Pakistan 2.6 2.7 2.7 (SIPRI estimates)
A comparison of the data on defence spending vis-a-vis that of other countries is difficult due to lack of uniformity in treatment of different components of the expenditure and non-availability of reliable and latest published data. The Government ensures that our armed forces are always fully prepared to meet any security challenge.